Assiqnob to kelly-spbing



R. H. WATERS.

VEHlCLE TIRE. v

V APPLICATION HLED JULY 2211921. 1,407,967, Patented Feb. 28, 1922.

\U\ fj- :U mrs-D s'rarss PATENT OFFICE.

REGINALD H. WATERS, OF CUMBEB-LAND, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO KELLYSPR/IVNG- FIELD TIRE COMIVANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F NEW VEHICLE TIRE.

' AApplication led July 22,

To all whom it may concern Beitlknownthat I, REGINALD H. Va'rEns, ya vcitizen of the' UnitedStates, residing at Q'Culnberland, in 'the county of ,Allegany AiState i of 'have invented cerltin @new `and [useful Improvements .in a resilientllehicle VTire, oi` which 'e the follow- -ipasfaspeietepi Thistinventionrelates to improvements in fresilientitiresof the type known as solids band particularly .to .the larger lsizes used onV .vention consistsin the;construction, proporaus Itions yand.novelcombinations ofparts, fully described, yillustrated inthe drawing and ,specifically claimed.

V Refeiiingg" to the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of a tire embodying my invention.

Figure2=isa sidefelevation of a fragment Iof the-tire underlload, showing the performance of the traction portion in relation. to

the mainbody ofthe tread. Eigure 3is a Vcross section within the trae-tion Zone particularly illustrating the beneficialgreliefof ,the traction portion in plcontactewith .,-anobstnple.

In vtires of -tli'eclass having broad flat treads A`with -tractionnotches and used for dutyunder severe conditions, it has ybee-n `found @that their chief `defect -lies in the fact that the-verytraction .imparting vir- Vltue-,is-oftt-ni thedirect means oft-heir destruction; That is, 'a tru-cle V is frequently exposed physical obstacles impossible to overcome,

` even 5in rthe event -that ithe driving Vwheels vattain rper-feet traction Mand the full rated Tpowerifo'ff alspeededupfenginein low gear is 7appliedto them. llnderfsuch circumstances the average high-:powered engine candeliver fniore,ppiirer-to,the wheelsthan the tire struc.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedFeb. 28, 1922.

1921. Serial No. 486,663.

ture can stand; Ymore especially is this the case where Athe wheels intermittently spin than abruptly Cluththe reed ,as the tip@- tion notches find an especially lfavorable projection lto push against The tire iniist'do on@ of two 'things Spin and aus elle@ 'itself Of the vOtherwise destlruptve Stresses,

or, clutch-in and befdamaged or destroyed as the futile effort `of thedriver continues; The usual direction taken such-damage is yeither to `completely separate `the jrubber structure from its anchorage `on metallic rim, a circumstance which, ofcourse, de-

stroys the tire; or, to tear ont a tractionl notch or even the entire piecelyingbetween adjacent notches, a circumstance which seriously impairs the `further lusefulness of the tire. A

The present ihveptpn will :absplutely and automatically savethe structure from consequences resulting from indiscreet *power application by refusing to maintain traction beyond the point of useful yeffort'. ThetracV tion increasing portions of the structure will mushroom both circumferenti-ally:v .and laterally in -bothdirections under dangerous stress until the iii-ain load settles Vonltlie relatively broalder` and smooth central bland, whereby the ywheel will be free to spin and the driver automatically notifiedltliat iurther effort to extrioate his vehicleis futile; thus savingthe tire.

The 'function of the invention may be likened to a friction clutch whereinoverload on the tractionstrips beyond a critical stress will cause those members to temporarily collapse, therein7 shifting the destructive tendency into the central smooth portion,`

which converts the 4stresses into lrelatively harmless spinning.

The action of ythe tire will be readily understood by reference to the drawing, wherein lnumeral 5 represents xgenerally a bodyrportion of thestructuremounted upon andsecurely attached t0 arini portiOH `The circumferential channels 7 divide the {tire face into three `iportions; B representing a Wide, smooth I strip :bounded y by; outlying traetion strips, (D1-having traction notches of epproprate design impressed therein 'The object .sought iis .to ,so pro f ortion.l he ,relative widths .of thvtparts d z t0 further weakenv C by tractiom notches 8 and the abutting channels 7 that the major portion of the weight of the vehicle shall be sustained by B, and especially so when C collapses under the circumstance previously mentioned.

lThe conditions shown in Fig. 2 may be taken as illustrative of the action of the structure in negotiating a road whose sur.

face is capable of being indented by the tire. The line A-A defines the road surface, D the normal circumference of the tire, B the surface of the smooth strip, showing that the majority of the weight borne thereby tends to impress it into the road a relatively greater degree than is attained by C, the

Y of course, not so great as to impair the traction-seeking function of the notches 8.

In Fig. 3 is shown, in cross section` a situvation wherein one of the traction strips C has come into contactwith a partially emy .beddedstone E assumed to protrude from the road, and become engaged by the leading` edge of one of the blocks constitutingtheV strip at approximately the position of an open notch. Assume also that the truck stalls, as on a hill, with this projection in incident with a notch and affording;` a strong abutment against which the block will react. Power is applied suddenly and the full force concentrated upon the point of the strip C which resists up to its designed rating, then,

-if traction is not set up in the vehicle, the

material releases by temporary collapse permitting the wheel to spin at the expense of the smooth tread B and without incurring injury to the structure.

In seeking the proper proportions for the urchanne'ls, notches, and related widths of smoothand serrated traction strips it is understood that the class of service for which the tire is intended and the `weight to he sustained will govern-the scope of the invenf tion permits a wide variation in these matters.

The drawings have merely' illustrated a preferred embodiment of 'the invention in the -form of a unitary structure, capable of being produced by the unit molding opera-' tion, but it is apparent that many modifications may be made'within the limits of the disclosure and claims.` For instance, the traction bands may be entirely separate from the central strip; the notches may take any desired angular direction or assume any form thatV seems effective. Or, in fact, the

channels may be functionally represented by any suitable voids not circumferentially continuous7 whereby the necessary relief of the distressed material of the traction elements is secured. i l

Having thus described my invention and indicated a new and useful departure from the accepted practice of truck tire design, which I claim is:

l. tire structure formed of solid resilient material comprising a central circumferential strip having a smooth surface, and adapted to normally support the greaterjpart of the weight on thev tire, and juxtaposed resilient traction increasing strips yseparated from said smooth strip andvhaving Vtransverse traction openings acrosstheir surfaces.

2. vA tire structure formedk integrally of resilient material comprising a centrally'disposed circumferential strip having asmooth surface and adapted to sustain a greater unit compression stress than the traction strips, and juxtaposed counterpart traction strips separated from said smooth strip and have ing transverse traction serrations across their faces, said traction strips being adapted to deform under load to transfer a greater stress into the smooth strip, for the purpose set forth.

3. A tire structure formed integrally of resilient Vmateri al having awide transversely Hat surface comprising a smoothy weight-sus-` taining;- strip isolated from a pair of iuxtaposed traction increasingstrips, said traction strips having transverse notches whereby their combined weight sustaining capacities in the zone of traction are less than, that of" the smooth strip and whereby either traction strip is enabled to collapse and lose traction under undue stress at the expense of transmitting its proportion of the load into the smooth strip.

4. .A tire structure of resilient material having a transversely flat traction 'surface of greater width than the radial depth there of, comprising a circumferentially divided tread including a centrally disposed smooth strip adapted to bear more weight than the counterpart traction strips, and counterpart traction strips weakened tol Hexunder undue tractive stress but to normally attain a greater tractive effort than said smooth strip.

5. A tire structure of resilient material having a substantially transverse flat traction surface. a centrally disposed smooth strip adapted to sustain the maximum Weight with the minimum offtractive elii ciency, and a plurality of traction increasing strips transversely scored to afford the 'maximum tractive effort, said scoring adapting them to flex and lose traction'in the presence of stresses suilicient to injure the structure, for the purpose set forth.4 7

6.- A tire structure ofresilient material having a transversely fiat tread portion, said tread comprisinga centrally disposed smooth ing openings comprising radially disposed strip not less than half the Width of said notches intersecting; said channels and havtread, a plurality of traction increasing ing their outer termini radially inward of 10 strips disposed on either side of said Smooth the bases of said channels. strip and separated therefrom by relatively In testimony whereof I affix my signature. deep circumferential channels, said traction strips being provided With traction increas- REGINALD H. WATERS. 

